Transfer Pitcher Among Potential Breakouts for Wolfpack

Collins Black's College Career

Unlike many of his teammates, Collins Black is a new addition to this Wolfpack squad, although he is incredibly familiar with the state of North Carolina and its positioning in ACC baseball. The Cary native spent his first collegiate baseball season at Duke, throwing 9.1 innings out of the bullpen with 18 strikeouts.

As a high school baseball prospect, Black was a Perfect Game All-American as the No. 53 prospect in North Carolina, No. 23 right-handed pitcher, and a top-500 recruit nationally. He also played summer baseball with new teammates Brandon Novy and Preston Bonn.

His ERA (8.68) will have to come down, but much of that came from a rough first career start against Cincinnati. Black has plenty of baseball left in his college career and plenty of time to work things out. Plus, at North Carolina State, he'll get to work with renowned veteran pitching coach Clint Chrysler, who enters his eighth season with the program and has produced plenty of All-ACC arms and MLB prospects.

The Rest of the Wolfpack Bullpen

NC State entered the 2025 season with one of college baseball's top-rated bullpens, driven by guys like Derrick Smith, Camden Wimbush, and Jacob Dudan, among others. However, it was a pretty tough year for the Wolfpack pitching staff overall, finishing with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

Wimbush allowed 16 earned runs in 12 appearances to end up with the staff's worst ERA, while Smith only appeared in six games. Dudan was a bright spot with a 2-2 record and 3.38 ERA in 22 games, including one start. But, as D1baseball mentions, the junior right-handed pitcher has earned a shot in the starting rotation with those numbers.

As such, NC State will be looking to remake its bullpen. It's a rather young group, which may bode well for development and improvement, and there's no reason Black can't contribute and be a critical part of the season's process.

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